Forming method



Feb. 23, 1943. u zm 2,311,662

FORMING METHOD Original Filed Feb. 25, 1937 5Sheets-Sheet 1 W s E Q m Q Q 1\ By M A TOP/V5145:

Feb. 23, 1943. HUNZlKER 2,311,662

FORMING METHOD Original Filed Feb. 25, 193'? 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 //v VE/V 7'0 78. FE ED HUNZ/KE/P A77 PNEYS- w F. HuNzmER FORMING METHOD Original Filed Feb. 23, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTCP FEE Z HUA/Z/AE]? EMA V5.

ig ilga HUNZEKER 2,311,662

FORMING METHOD Original Filed Feb. 25, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 By MM Feb. 23, 1943.

F. HUNZIKER FORMING METHOD Original Filed Feb. 23, 193'? 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lNVF/VTOP. FPFZ f/UA Z/A EP M ATTORNEY 5.

Patented Feb. 23, 1943 zsusaz roams ms'rnon Fred Hnnziker, Cleveland, Ohio, asslgnor to The Weather-head Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a cor poration of Ohio Original application February as, 1937, Serial No.

Divided and this application November 14, 1939, Serial No. 304,359

1 Claim. (CI. 28-88.?!)

This invention relates to an improved method of securing fittings, such as couplings and the like, to hose ends and particularly to flexible hose of fabric and rubber or other suitable resilient flexible material. 7

This application is a division of my co-pendi ng United States patent application Serial No. 127,117, filed February 23, 1937 issued Aug. 13, 1940 as patent No. 2,211,622.

In attaching metal fittings to the ends of fiexible hose such as is used for hydraulic brake fluid pressure conducting conduits and gasoline feed. lines in automotive vehicles, it is of great importance to secure the fittings in an entirely leakproof manner and so that the Joint between the fitting and the hose will be at least as strong as the hose itself. Prior to the present invention fittings of the general type herein illustrated and described have been secured to the ends of fiexible hose by slipping the end of the hose into a tubular sleeve portion of the coupling and then rolling down the tubular portion of the coupling so that it tightly grips the hose, compressing the resilient material of the hose and forcing the hose end into sealing engagement with a suitable shoulder at the inner end of the sleeve of the coupling.

Patent No. 2,000,680 to Albert J. Weatherhead, Jr., described and claims a method of securing hose couplings to the end of a hose by a rolling and spinning operation. Although this method is efiective in providing a rigid attachment of the coupling to the hose it possesses certain disadvantages. The rolls and spinners used'in the Weatherhead method have a kneading action on the coupling shell involving considerable friction and cold working of the metal. In order to obtain a proper connection the rolls must make a number of revolutions relative to the hose and coupling and thus any point on the coupling which is acted on by the rolls is subjected to a large number of separate rolling and spinning actions. This makes it extremely difficult to roll or spin plated hose ends without cracking or otherwise injuring the plating. Furthermore, the metal of the coupling itself must be very carefully selected and of relatively expensive type in order to stand up under the drastic kneading and cold working of the Weatherhead process.

In the case of relatively hard brass, in order to withstand the kneading action of the rolls or spinners, it is usually necessary in the weatherhead method to anneal the couplings before they are attached to the hose. This annealing destroys some of the desirable properties of the metal of the fitting. Further, after the parts are annealed they must be subjected to an acid cleaning in order to restore their bright appearance and with threaded fittings the acid attacks "and weakens the threads. Another disadvantage of the rolling and spinning method is that the rolls, regardless of the metal used and because of the localized pressure exerted, reduce the thickness of the wall sections of the coupling considerably thereby proportionately reducing the strength of the assembly. a

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a method of securing fittings to hose 'ends in which the necessity for annealing and pickling before attaching them to the hose is eliminated and in which the original physical properties of the metal of the fittings are retained during and after the attachment of the coupling to the hose;

Further objects of the invention are: the provision of an improved method of securing fittings to hose ends which will result in a pressure tight joint between the fittings and hose and which I will provide a fiared end on the fitting adjacent the hose whereby cutting of the hose by the edge of the fitting is avoided; the provision of a method of securing a fitting to a hose end which will permit the use of a wide variety of inexpensive and easily machined metals in their natural state without requiring annealing or other special heat treatment; and the provision of a method of securing a fitting to a hose end which may be performed at a relatively high rate of speed by unskilled persons without danger and which may be used with couplings of round, hex, square or other cross-sectional shapes.

The above and other objects of my invention will appear from the following description of my improved method and a machine which is adapted efficiently and economically to carry out the method, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section through one embodiment of my forming machine showing a fitting and hose end in position, the parts being shown in the positions they assume when the coupling or fitting has been fully crimped.

Figure 2 is a view of the hose receiving end of the device shown in Figure l but on a somewhat smaller scale and shown with the hose end and coupling removed.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 1-3 of Figure l but on asornewhat reduced scale.

Figure 4 is a cross-section taken on line 4-4 I -Figureisanendviewofth i'rame showninFigureA. Figure 6 is a detached perspective view of one I of the crimping fingers.

2' Tl i I of Figure 5 and illustrating the crimping. llr or forming finger supporting spider or frame.

' sari,

efinger supporting I is p eferably provided with i ht slots ll.

:equally spacedcircumferentiaily of the spider .1

and of suitable width to guide the eight crimp- Figures 7 and 8 are side and face views respec;

tively of one form of cam which maybe used actuate the device of Figures 1 to 6.

Figure 9 is a view of a gasolin h s having metal lining and equipped w th ouplings s d in accordance with my method. a 7

Figure 10 is a detached cross-sectional view one of the couplings of Figure 9 before the crimp-' ing operation has taken place.

Figure 11 is a view similar-to Figure lo but;

left hand end of the hoseinFigure 9. 1

illustrating the fitting shown on the Figure 12 is a fragmentary cross-sectional Figure 13 is a view of the hose end shown in Figure 12 after the-tubular sleeve portion of a view of a high-pressure hose and coupling be' fore the crimping operation has taken place.

the coupling has been deformed to secure it to the hose. s v

Figure 14 is a view generally similar to Figure 9 but illustrating a modified form of crimp in which a double bend is imparted to the tubular I flange of the coupling. 1 Figure 15 is a cross-sectional similar to Figure 1 but illustrating a modified form of forming machine for combined pressin and swaging of an article.

Figure 16 is a fragmentary view of the pressing fingers and couplin illustrated in Figure 15 but showing the arrangement of the parts after the longitudinal movement of the coupling has been completed.

Figure 1'1 is a view taken on line iL-il of Figure 15 illustrating the double cam for operating the machine of Figure 15.

Referring now to Figure l, the shell or housing i is provided with a cylindrical bore 2. The housing I may be fixed to and supported in any suitable manner on the base i. The end I of the housing I is bored to accommodate the plufiger i which carries the cam follower i at one end. This roll 6 may be mounted to ro tate on a shaft 1 which is secured in position by a set screw 8. The plunger 5 extends into the bore 2 of the housing i and abuts against view generally 7 the spider or frame I which carries the crimping, pressing or forming fingers it. As is seen in Figures 2 and 3 the spider or frame 9 has a sliding fit in the cylindrical bore 2 of the housing I. A threaded collet ii is disposed at the opposite end of the cylindrical bore 2 and is provided with a tapered conical crimping finger engaging surface i2. This collet ll may be screwed into the housing i a degree sufficient to give the desired deformation, as will be later explained, and a set screw ll extends through the housing i and locks the collet II in the desired position. The inner face ll of the collet ii forms an abutment for the springs it (see' cos 1 about their pivotpinsfl. r

The plunger I is provided with a central bore r Y I! and a bar 20 has a sliding fit therein. The movement of the bar 28 is limited in an, axial direction by means of a pin 21 which extends 3 through the bar It and is disposed in a slotted; aperture is in the plunger I. w This pin and slot arrangement also prevents rotation of the' bar 2! relative to the plunger I.,A compresssisbostseeninmguresiandatnespider ing fingers i0. Each finger II is pivotally sup- .ported in the spider l by means of a pin ll. 1 These pins II, as seenin Figure 8, extend h ough rsuitable apertures in the spider I and provide .centers about which each of the fingers ll may swing. Springs 22 (see Fig.1) extend into the cut-out portions 23 of the fingers III and have; L their inner ends bearing against the central tu-" bular hub portion 24 of the spider These,"

springs 22 tend to move the pressing or crimping ends ofthe fingers ll radi sion spring 2! is disposed between the bottom of the bore fl and the end of the bar 28 and tends to hold the binin the position shown in, f

Figure 1 with the pin 21 against the right hand end of the slotted aperture 2!.

to accommodate the threaded portion ll of the adjustable stop member 82. A spacing washer 33 is disposed between the stop member 8! andv the end of the bar It and by varying the thickness of the spacing washer II the position of crimping fingers. If desired this boss 8| may be provided with a screw driver slot as to facilf i itate adjustment of the installation thereof, and I it will be understood that the end of the stop.

32 may be formed to accommodate different 5 types of fittings.

To operate the forming device just described f' I provide a cam 31 mounted on ashaft ll which.

may be driven from any suitable source of power (not shown). In the preferred operation of my apparatus this cam will be either intermittently rotated through a clutch (not shown) controlled by the operator or continuously rotated causing the forming device to operate in a continuous repeating cycle. The cam may have any shape to give the type of action desired. It will be I understood that, if desired, my forming device can be readily adapted in a portable form to manual operation by means of a suitable hand crank, lever or the like.

In operation of the forming mechanism the "plunger I is reeiprocated by means of the cam When the plunger is moved to the right (Fig. l) by the cam 31 it pushes the spider 9 to the right and compresses the four circumferentially spaced springs ll. As the cam 3-1 rotates the springs It will move the spider i and the plunger 8 to the left. This reciproeating motion of the plunger I and the spider 9 will cause the fingers l0, and particularly the tapered faces It thereof, to slide on the 13- pered surface I! of the collet member II. In

the position of the parts illustrated in Figure 1 the plunger 5. the spider 8, and the fingers il ally outwardly The right iisnd-f end of the bar it has a threaded aperture 30 9. reaches the end of its return or releasing stroke i" and the insertion of another coupling ch mes v ,1 3

. are in their farthest right or crimping oiiiuoiui'jz inw d b ndin oflthe sleeve 0 by the and the crimping faces ill"- of the fingers ll fingern il alsoxcauses the lip or end 44 of the 1 have engaged and deformed the tubular sleeve sleeve 48 to flare outwardly, as is clearly shown portion 40 of the coupling. As the operating in Figures 1 and 9, so that, the diameter of the cycle'proceeds and the cam 31 continues to ro-" 5 lip 44, after the forming operation, is larger than tate, the spider 9 and the fingers it move to] it was prior thereto. As isbest seen in Figure 9 the left from the position shown in Figure l, this flaring of theedge of the lip or sleeve ll due to the action of the springs l5, and the relieves the pressure of the sleeve against the hose springs 22 cause the fingers It to spread apartp l2 and provides a connection which will permit the faces I! of the fingers stay in contactwith the surface I! of the coliet ii and the pressing or crimping faces iii" open. When the spider flexing or bending of the hose without wearing or "cutting thereof. v

In Figure 9 I have illustrated a hose provided with two different types of couplings, neither the fingers ID will be spread apart sumciently of. which is the same as that illustrated-in Figure to permit the free withdrawal of the coupling! 1. However, the difference between the various ll from within the separated crimping faceszwfcouplings illustrated lies primarily in the attherein. As the cycle continues the new coupling will be subjected tothe forming action;

ylindrical sleeve portion 0 which fits over the 18nd of the hose and which is'crimped inwardly of the fingers Ill caused-by their sliding on the g bythe crimping fingers II to cause secure grip inclined or tapered surface i2ofthe collet on the hoseand also to force the inner end of By adjusting the position of the stop 32 and; j the hose into fluid tight contact with the shoulder adjusted.

its end face v34 the position, in an axial direc- ':in the coupling.

tachment end. They are all provided with ation, ofrthe coupling relativeto the crimping Asia seeninFigures l0 and 11, which illustrate I faces ill of the finsersllmawbe accuratelyi the couplings of Figure 9 prior to their being Dur1n8 the formin ion all h fl fi ll l erably provided with coarse internal threads 45,

the metal of the cylindrical fiange ll of the iy I preferably with rounded flat ti pl is b n wardly and may end oflow 8- which grip thehose surface. "I'he particular smalls-mount in an axial dire i Any flow of -3 hose illustrated in Figure 9 is of the metal lined 'metal to the right (Fig.4) 'is freely permitted type provided'with a nexibiemetal lining. and the threaded end of the coupling 4| may also w th thi type of h s a sleeve member 41 i move to the left to accommo te ny ngation referably inserted in the end thereof to form a or flow. of metal- Thlr m v me is p rmitted better joint between the end of the hose and the due to the resilient arran ement of the supp rt 5 coupling, to prevent leakage therebetween and for the stop member 32 and wh n Such m to support the metal lining against collapse.

ment ta e place t s 32 n the b In Figures 12 and 1a the type of coupling which her 28 will move to the left compr ssin the is used for high pressure hydraulic brake hose spr n 9 a dmoving the in 21 in th s t is illustrated. This type of hose is not lined and 28. In some instances it may not benecessary in order to prevent collapse of the opening not d sir to Permit axial moi/went of through the hose during the crimping operation 'ihread -portion of the coupling and in such a-tubular member 48 is employed which extends instances the stop member 22 m? be r ly into the hose and is provided with a cup-shaped secured to the hub r t u ar io II of the portion 49 which'flts within the sleeve M. As spider 9 or, as an alternative,-a wedge or block. 1 e in Figure 13, the same flaring of the (not illustrated) may be inserted in the slot 1. V open end of the sleeve 0 occurs with this em.- betwe h P 17 and the 8nd of the Blot t0 .bodiment' of my improved coupling as that preprevent e t 0! t e i 21 inthe slot, thus viously described and thus cutting of the hose locking the bar 26 and the stop 32 from axial 7 adjacent the coupling is prevented. movement relative to the spider Q. In Figure 1 a modified form of coupling t- By screwing the collet II in or out the position tachment is illustrated in which the crimping of the tapered surface It relative to the fingers dies are so formed as to bend the metal of the i0 is vari d and such adjustment wi l v ry the sleeve 40 inwardly at a plurality of places. This degree of radial movement of the fingers I. embodlmeni; may be advantageously used in a, for a given 8x1 longltlldlnfll movement variety of forming shapes with some types of hose thereof. It will be un er d h my pp ratus and fittings and to perform various other formcan be readily changed to accommodate different m stamping r marking rati n sizes of couplin s or fittin s by Su h adjustmen In Figures 15, 16 and 17 I have illustrated a or by ly inserting a n w Bet 0 fi rs modification of my improved apparatus in which ins prop y shaped cri pin faces and bein a combined pressing or crimping and swaging of proper dimensions to en ge th p r i ul r operation is performed upon the fitting to secure fitting being handl d- The 0 9 8 movemflntit to the hose end. In Figure 15 the apparatus of the fin rs l9 issubstflnflally r y i w r y is substantially identical with that of Figure l of the tubular flange 40 of the fitting. When the except for the operating cam and. plimgers and fin r reach their innermost P n (Bee F fl- 2) the contour of the faces of the pressing fingers each finger is substantially in Con ac w i and the parts which are substantially identical adjacent finger and substantially the entire cirwith the parts shown in Figure l have been cumference of the sleeve of the coupling is ensimilarly numbered and will be referred to by the gaged thereby. A steady uniform pressure is apsame reference characters- T pr sin fin rs plied throughout the engaged surface of the ID are provided with working faces 52 which are coupling and, due to the contour of the crimping adapted to engage the sleeve 53 of the coupling. faces of the fingers Iii, the substantially radially The inner end of the coupling abuts against a inward movement thereof tends to cause the end stop 32 having a locating or centering pin 35, as of the hose 42 to be forced with great pressure in Figure 1, and the outer plunger member If against its seat 43 in the coupling (see Fig. 9). engages the hub portion 24 of the finger carryattached to the hose. the sleeve ends lll are prefing spider. An inner plunger 55 is slidably carried within a suitable bore in the outer plunger 54. This inner plunger 55 extends through the bore in the hub 24 of the spider and carries at its end the adjustable stop member 32. A pin 55 is mounted in the inner plunger 55 and projects into a slotted aperture 51 in the outer plunger 54 and a spring 58, disposed in the slot 51, tends to hold the pin 55 in the left hand end of the slot 51 with the stop member 52 in its withdrawn position relative to the outer plunger 54. A guidepin 59, mounted in the outer plunger 54, extends into a slot or keyway 55 and prevents rotation of the plunger 54 while permitting longitudinal movement thereof relative to the frame I. The double cam which operates the mechanism of Figure 15 is made up of two separated identical cam portions ii and 52 which operate the outer plunger 54 and another cam face 53, having a different contour from the cams 5| and 52, which is disposed between cams 5i and 52 and operates the inner plunger 55 and controls the swaging action of the fingers.

Referring particularly to Figures 15 and 1'7, the cam shaft 54 may be considered to be rotating in the direction of the arrow and the face of the cams 5i and 52 engage the end of the tubular outer plunger 54 while the surface of the cam 53 engages the rounded end 55' of the inner plunger 55. When the parts are in the position illustrated in Figures 15 and 17 the cams have moved the plungers 54 and 55 simultaneously to the right from their farthest withdrawn (or left) position which occurs when the cams 5|, 52 and 63 engage the plungers 54 and 55 at 55 (Fig. 17), into a position where the outer plunger 54 has reached its farthest advanced position and the fingers ill have completed their pressing action on the sleeve 53 of the coupling. It will be seen that, asthe portion of the cam surfaces 6! and 52 from the point 55 to approximately point 51 are circular, no further advance of the plunger 54 will take place and consequently the fingers ill will not be caused to reduce the diameter of the sleeve 53 further. However, as the cams continue to rotate in the direction of the arrow from the positions shown in Figures 15 and 17, the cam 65 will continue to move the inner plunger 55 to the right against the action of the spring 55. This movement of the inner plunger 55 will not be accompanied by corresponding movement of the outer plunger 54 because of the resistance oil'ered thereto by the engagement of the fingers l5 with the collet member H. Movement of the inner plunger 55 will, however, push the coupling outwardly, or to the right in Figure 15, and will cause a swaging action to take place between the surfaces 52 of the fingers l and the sleeve 53. When this separate movement of the plunger 55 and the coupling relative to the fingers in has reached its maximum thg fingers and their working faces 52 will be in the positions shown in Figure 16. Rotation of the cams i, 52 and 53, which are all keyed to the shaft 54, continues until the flat portion seen in Figure 17 again engages the ends of the plungers and the plungers are permitted simultaneously to return to their withdrawn positions where the are ready for another operation. I

By providing the above described double cam and double plunger apparatus a combined pressing and swaging operation can be carried out upon a coupling or other article. The inward pressing action of the fingers followed by longitudinal movement of the fingers relative/to the article while maintaining the fingers in their inner positions, results, in the case of a hose coupling, in a very effective attachment of the coupling to the hose. The end of the fiexible hose is pressed very firmly into engagement with the end of the coupling by the swaging or ironing action which takes place intermediate the ends of the coupling sleeve during the longitudinal movement of the coupling relative to the fingers.

From the above description of my improved method of attaching fittings to hose and several forms of apparatus for carrying out the method, it will be seen that the resulting hose and coupling units will have properties not found in articles made by previously employed processes. In my improved hose and coupling assembly the metal of the sleeve or flange of the coupling which engages the hose has substantially the same physical properties as the parent metal from which the couplings are made. In articles of this class extruded brass rod is commonly used and the parts are formed on automatic machines. The metallurgical structure of extruded rod is particularly suited for the service in which these parts operate and by providing a coupling assembly in which all parts of the coupling retain substantially the original physical characteristics of the extruded rod the strength of the part is greatly increased over the previously used couplings in which the metal of the coupling was subjected to violent kneading and cold working during the rolling or swaging operation performed thereon to attach it to the hose. Moreover, in previous procedures, it has been necessary to anneal the fittings before attaching to the hose and, as such annealing necessarily involved the entire fitting, the physical characteristics of the body of the fitting were detrimentally changed. Annealing also required an acid cleaning step which was expensive and in some instances, as noted before, actually harmful to threaded parts.

It will be further understood that my method can be used with entire success on plated articles without in any way injuring the adhesion of the plating to the parent metal. As a relatively low unit pressure is applied to the fitting sleeve during the crimping operation cracking and other failure of the sleeve during attachment to the hose is largely eliminated.

Although I have described my improved method of attaching couplings to hose ends in considerable detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. For example, the apparatus illustrated has been described as particularly adapted for securing couplings or the like to hose ends but it will be seen that my improved method is adaptable to other operations on articles other than hose fittings. I do not, therefore. wish to be limited to the specific forms and procedures illustrated and described herein, but claim as my invention all embodiments thereof coming within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

The method of securing anon-metallic hose to a metallic fitting having a sleeve portion, which includes the steps of inserting the hose into said sleeve, and applying a substantially uniform pressure substantially radially inwardly simultaneously around substantially the entire cir- 2,552 5 sleeve located finally moving said sleeve with respect thereto eey reducing be subject said sleeve to a, drawing actiun and W :1 sleeve simui= iaherefey lengthening said. reduced portion where- K P pains of the circumference thereby said sleeve is formed into gripping engage of 511 a single, uninterruptefi movement to its 5 ment with said hose without reducing the d!- e r, and thereafter, while maintaining aemeter o! the end portions of the sleeve] '..-.1 FRED HUNZIKER.

enial 1 2115212211 

